If Thea Spyer, whose death in 2009 set the stage for Wednesday’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, were still alive, she might tell her partner, Edith Windsor, “You did it, honey!” Windsor, who is Jewish and just turned 84 just a few days ago, spoke those words at a triumphant news conference at…
Jewish groups continued to react to the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, with most mainstream groups lining up to back the twin decisions pushing the legal envelop on same-sex nuptials. The Anti Defamation League, which filed a friends-of-court brief in favor of gay marriage on behalf of wide array of religious organizations, welcomed the…
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, an early proponent of gay marriage, celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Defense Of Marriage Act. Schneiderman said Wednesday morning’s ruling was “a historic victory for the quintessentially American principle of equal justice under the law.” The DOMA case was brought forth by a New…
The Supreme Court upheld the federal rights of same sex couples in states that allow same sex marriages — a decision likely to cheer liberal Jewish groups that rallied support for the issue. The first of two rulings Wednesday struck down a key part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which mandated…
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for gay rights on Wednesday by forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage in states where it is legal and paving the way for it in California, the most populous state. As expected, however, the court fell short of a broader ruling endorsing a fundamental right…
Israeli and Palestinian leaders are both committed to reviving peace talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that progress on the long-stalled negotiations would be tough. Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over construction of Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land that Palestinians want…
A Brooklyn ultra-Orthodox rabbi and purported do-gooder is under investigation for allegedly running 20 phony not-for-profit organizations to solicit funds from donors. New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office issued a subpoena on June 7 to Rabbi Yaakov Weingarten of Brooklyn demanding he provide proof of legal incorporation, bank records, expenditures since 2007, and…
With scooter helmets in hand, a man called Yohan and six buddies stroll around Paris’ 20th arrondissement. The seven look much like a typical group of French students — until they locate a group of Arab men they suspect of perpetrating an anti-Semitic attack the previous day. Using their helmets as bludgeons, members of France’s…
Disgraced ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner, attempting a political comeback two years after resigning in disgrace from the legislature, has taken the lead over his Democratic rivals in the race for New York City mayor, a poll showed. Weiner, the only Jewish candidate, has the backing of 25 percent of registered Democrats, while City Council Speaker Christine…
Billionaire Marc Rich, who invented oil trading and was pardoned by President Bill Clinton over what had once been the biggest tax evasion case in U.S. history and busting sanctions with Iran, died on Wednesday from a stroke in Switzerland at 78. Rich fled the Holocaust with his parents for America to become the most…
A section of a 1,800-year-old ancient road from the Roman period running from Jerusalem to Jaffa was uncovered in northern Jerusalem. The road was discovered during excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Israeli-Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in advance of the installation of a drainage pipe. The road made of large, flat stones…
דער באַגריף, ייִדישע אױטאָנאָמיע אין גלות — הײַנט פּאָפּולער בײַ קריטיקער פֿון ציוניזם — איז היסטאָריש ניט געװען קײן דערפֿאָלג.
